After the battle
by Msray
Summary: After the battle of Winterfell Jaime and Brienne find themselves sharing a bath together once again


After the battle most people immediately sought to find somewhere to sleep, physically and mentally exhausted by the endless onslaught of the dead. Jaime however had a more pressing need to rid himself of the blood and remnants of the dead that coated him. Whilst he had been the Stark's' prisoner and then during the journey after losing his hand he had been covered in filth. The memory of being so unclean with his rotting hand strung round his neck and nearly delirious from the wound was one that caused great pain to think about. Ever since then he always had to be clean, and the disgusting layer that coated him now needed to be rinsed away so he could feel like himself again.

He was lucky because Winterfell was built on hot springs that meant the baths were always heated and the water was so warm that steam was rising off the top. The room that contained the large baths was empty apart from him and the silence was welcome after the chaos of the nights battle. The only light came from a small window at the other end of the room where the timid dawn sunlight was peering through. When the dead had charged towards him out of the darkness he had accepted that he would never see sunlight again but here he was. He watched in a content stupor as the steam rose through the air and caught the sunlight.

Then the sound of footsteps on wet stone disturbed his daydreaming and he sighed inwardly, he really just wanted to be alone. However when he looked up at the figure who had come to join him he realised it was Brienne. Without a word she walked round to the opposite end of the large square tub and dropped the robe that was covering her body. She looked uncomfortable and avoided Jamie's gaze as she lowered into the water. She was so fierce and brave when in battle, not showing any fear in the face of death. But here now naked and without her armour protecting her she seemed so unsure of herself.

"There's another tub you know". At this Brienne met Jaime's eyes and smiled. "This one will suit me fine". His eyes searched her face and he thanked the gods that she was still here. Throughout the night there had been several moments where he thought he had lost her. The night had been so horrific and deranged and to be alive on the other side was against all odds. No words could be said that would do justice to the things they had experienced that night. And nothing needed to be said, they both sat in comfortable silence for a while just glad that the other was still alive with them. He had expected that they would both die that night but now that they are alive he supposed they would have to talk about what had grown between them.

The complex emotions that they felt for each other was implicit in so many of their conversations and actions but they had never once addressed it. The emotion had first appeared after he had confided his tale of why he killed the mad king and she had looked him in the eye and called him Ser Jaime not the kingslayer. It was there when she stood up in front of everyone in Winterfell to defend his honour and insist that she would fight beside him. It was there when he had knighted her, an act that was a culmination of their shared journey. A journey where she had turned him into a better man, a man with honour and he in turn had grown to respect her and everything she stood for and he knew that she more than anyone truly deserved a knighthood. When she had risen as Ser Brienne, the two had looked at each other with so much emotion and love they had forgotten about the other people in the room. He knew Brienne loved him, try as she might to hide it, her face was so expressive and always gave her away. But she remained formal as ever and had never once said anything to admit it. Soon he would put his feelings into words and say to Brienne that he loved her but now was not the time. Exhausted and still stunned with the sheer relief of being alive, Jaime just wanted to sit in the silent comfort of the warm water and enjoy the feeling of being alive with Brienne close to him.

Her face was so browned with dirt he could barely see any of her pale white skin and he decided he would fix that. He took the cloth from the side of the bath and made his way next to her. He took her face in his hand which caused her to start "shhhh" he said softly whilst he caressed her cheek. It saddened him that she could take blows during a fight without flinching but was so unused to intimacy that she shied away from it. He picked up the cloth and wiped the dirt from her face and neck until she was Brienne again. He looked at her blue eyes, more beautiful than any sapphire could be and she looked back at him, even now after everything they'd been through she still seemed shy under his gaze. Like always they expressed the unlikely love they shared between one another by looking into each other's eyes and without putting it into words. Now her skin was clean he lowered her head towards his chest so her head was suspended in the water and began to work her hair. As he brushed the dirt out of her hair with his fingers he looked at the silhouette of her body in the dark water. She did have a womanly figure beneath that armour and if he wasn't exhausted he knew his body would have reacted. Now she was completely clean and her pale hair and skin could be seen again. Her white skin was slightly flushed from the heat of the water and Jaime suspected also from being so physically close to a man in a way that didn't involve fighting him.

They stayed in the warm waters of the bath until the sun outside fully rose, Jaime gently holding Brienne to his chest. He wished they could stay like this for longer being happy and safe together just them two and nobody else. Jaime suspected that the following day Brienne would act like this tender moment had not occurred and she would return to her formal self and call him Ser Jaime and talk of nothing but honour and politics and battle tactics. Jaime would not be offended ,that was just how Brienne was, and he knew that in her own way she had already told him she loved him by defending his honour before lady Sansa at Winterfell. For now they were both content in the silence, enjoying the rare moment of complete peace together so they left declarations of love for another time. They knew that the following day they would be back in the world of endless political scheming and fighting so they savoured this moment in the knowledge that it might be one of their last.


End file.
